If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Valve's Gabe Newell Talks Linux Steam Client, Source Engine

04-25-2012, 04:30 AM

Phoronix: Valve's Gabe Newell Talks Linux Steam Client, Source Engine

For those that have doubted the exclusive Phoronix claims for quite a while now that the Steam client and Source Engine are in fact being ported to Linux, the doubts can be nearly laid to rest. Even I began to wonder how long it would take before the clients for their popular games would be publicly released under Linux. However, after confirming the information perhaps a bit too soon, their level of Linux interest is much more clear after spending a day at their offices. A meeting topped off the day with Gabe Newell regarding Linux where he sounded more like a Linux saint than an ex-Microsoft employee. Valve does have some great plans for Linux beyond just shipping the client versions of Steam and their popular games on the Source Engine.

An interesting day for all of us!
Let's hope it doesn't take too long for the Steam Client to be released.
At least they would have all the Humble Bundle stuff to ship on release.
Once L4D2 is up and running it shouldn't take too much effort to bring over TF2 and CS.

Comment

An interesting day for all of us!
Let's hope it doesn't take too long for the Steam Client to be released.
At least they would have all the Humble Bundle stuff to ship on release.
Once L4D2 is up and running it shouldn't take too much effort to bring over TF2 and CS.

Comment

Comment

I think it's pretty obvious what's happening in the industry. Apple with the new Mac App Store, and Microsoft with their similar plans for a store (Plus their Games for Windows Live), the two big players are essentially trying to squeeze Valve out of the market. On top of that, there is increased competition from EA's Origin.

Valve can really do whatever they want on Linux, and it's probably making a lot of sense in their eyes. They have such a strong library of in-house games, it's hard to see them not succeeding.

Comment

It is. This is a *really* significant step to making linux gaming viable, which is one of the reasons many people avoid linux as a platform (at least for home users).

The fact that Valve actually seem to be deeply invested in making linux work for them is also very good news, and quite surprising. I would have expected a half-assed effort commensurate with the short-term economic return they'd expect, which is, bluntly, small.